Cool water reservoir for refrigerators



July 25, 1944.

K. I. MILLER ET AL 2,354,272

COOL WATER RESERVOIR FOR REFRIGERATORS Original Filed July 7, 1941 G 6122361220115 2712267 (fAWZY/ZZ (Md c 1 2)!!! fizz/26a! Patented Juiy 25, 1944 COOL WATER RESERVOIR FOB REFRIGERATOR Original application July 401,326, now la'tent No. Divided 1942, Serial No. 462,734

ber 20, 1942. October 20,

Kinney r. Millerklkiancasten and Irwin'- purer,

kaville, Mo.

'1, 1941, serial No. 2,299,103, dated outand this appll'catio 6 Claims. (01. 52-89) door in closed position in solid lines and in open Our invention relates to refrigerators, and has particular reference to a cool water reservoir installed in the refrigerator wall for maintaining a constant supply of cool water which can be 1 drawn of! from a tap outside the refrigerator cabinet.

Among the objects of the invention is the provision of a cool water reservoir for a refrigerator occupying a substantially minimum amount of space within the cabinet of the refrigerator, and removably attached to the inside wall of the refrigerator so that it can be removed when desired for cleaning or replacement.

the inside of the door showing position by dotted lines;

Flrure 4 is a fragmentary elevational view of a watersupply connection for the reservoir, and Figure 5 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view taken on the line H of Figure 1. g

This is a division of our United States patent application Serial No. 401,326, filed July 7, 1941, issued as Patent No. 2,299,108, October 20, 1942, for a. Cool water reservoir for refrigerators.

In the past it has been sought to provide cool water'reservoirs inside of refrigerator cabinets so Another object of the invention is the provision of a new and improved removable cool water reservoir for a refrigerator, with means making the water supply accessible from the outside of the refrigerator cabinet without necessity for opening the door of the cabinet every time it is desired to draw cool water.

Itis a further object of the invention to provide a cool water reservoir so constructed that the contents will not splash about unnecessarily when the reservoir is attached to a refrigerator door which is frequently opened and closed; and

a reservoir cushioned in its mounting upon the door so that there will be no displacement or rattling when the door is closed.

Among the further objects of the invention are the provision of a cool water reservoir for attachment to the inside of a refrigerator door, having a water supply directly from the water main; of a reservoir so mounted on the door that it may be readily detached from the water supply line and removed from the door for purposes of cleaning and replacement; of a reservoir mounted in a recess in a refrigerator door in such a way as to form auxiliary dead air spaces to compensate for any reduction in thickness of the normal insulation removed for the insertion of the reservoir in the wall of the cabinet. 7

With these and other objects in view. the invention consists inthe construction, arrangement and combination of the various parts of the device whereby the objects contemplated are attained, as hereinafter more fully set forth, pointed out in the claims and illustrated in th accompanying drawing, in which:

Figure 1 is a front elevational view of the door of a refrigerator showing in dotted lines the position of the reservoir installed in the door;

Figure 2 is a vertical section taken on the line 2-2 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view taken on the line 2-3 of Figure 1, showing the arranged that the liquid contents could be drawn off by means of a tap extending to the outside of the cabinet. In the main, such cool water reservoirs have been permanently installed in the refrigerators so that the have not been accessible for cleaning and flushing or for ready and convenient replacement. when water is kept in a small container, such as a reservoir of this kind must be, if it is not used frequently deposits occur in the inside of the receptacle which give the water an undesirable taste or smell and sometimes cause deterioration of the inside of the receptacle. It is also true that when receptacles are kept in an empty condition, the interior is likely to deteriorate and unless they can be removed .for cleaning purposes, the entire installationmay eventually have to be replaced.

Furthermore, in the ordinary type of cool water storage deviceLthe user must remember to replenish the supply, and if this is neglected it is sometimes found that the vessel is nearly empty, at a time when a considerable quantity of cold water is wanted.

With these problems in mind. we have illustrated an embodiment of our invention in a conventional refrigerated cabinet II, which may utilize either mechanical or ice refrigeration. The cabinet has side walls ii, a front wall I and a door I hlnaed at the edge ii. A door latch II is provided at the opposite side of the door. As shown in Figure 2, a cool water reservoir 20 is provided with a cleaning spout 22 and an outlet tap 24 by means of which cool water can be drawn from the reservoir outside the refrigerator cabinet. I

The door It, as best shown in Figure 2, is prm vided with an outer plate 25 forming th out jd"z-- wall, an inner plate 2 forming an inside wall and a. mass of insulation 21 between the outer and inner walls. In the inner wall is rovided a recess 2! which, as shown in Figure 2, is slightly larger than the outside dimension of the reservoir and easily slide through the is designed to receive the reservoir so that it is substantially concealed within the door, though it iscontemplated that where. conditions may permit, the reservoir may protrude slightly beyond the inside wall of th door. Blocks or cushions 31 support the receptacle in the recess.

The reservoir itself consists of a receptacle having one side 30 within the recess and another side !i faclng'the inside, of the refrigerator cabinet. The receptacle has vertical side walls 32, a bottom tom of the receptacle is provided an outlet tap 24 herein shown to be of the push-button type, which is secured to the receptacle by means of a suitable fitting it near the bottom.

A strip of resilient insulating material 50 extends entirely around the side 30 of the receptac1e,enga8ing the adjacent wall of the recess. In addition, at the bottom of the recess surrounding the base of the tap 24 is an auxiliary ring II of the material for sealing the tap openthe when the receptacle is in place within the recess. The strip Bl, together with the ring 5|, forms the desired dead airspace 52 between the adjacent walls of the receptacle and recess, re-' spectively, which compensates in part for the loss in insulation due to making a recess in the door. It has likewise been found. beneficial to make the strip ill of a somewhat resilient material so that it will cushion the movement of the receptacle relative to the door as the door is opened and closed.

At the upper side of the recess there may be provided a hollowed out portion 60 which is designed to receive the cleaning spout 22 so that it may be concealed from the inside wall of the door.

For securing the receptacle in p sition in the recess, we provide spring clips 62 at the sides of the recess eng ing shoulders 63 on the receptacle. Auxiliary recesses it are provided to ive a finger hold for manipulating the spring clips.

A tap aperture ll extends through the door and is slightly larger in diameter than the maximum diameter of the tap to permit the tap to aperture. Adjacent the tap aperture is a depression ii in the outside wall of the door and at the bottom of the depression is a shelf 12. The shelf provides a support for a tumbler, for example, as well as serving as a drip pan. The depression 1i permits setting the tumbler partially within the door so that there may be a protrusion of the shelf and tap outwardly from the door a distance no greater than the'latch II.

In order to conduct tap water under pressure directly to the receptacle, a water supply pipe 80 is connected through a valve to the water main and extends through one side of the refrigerator cabinet. terminating in a fitting 8| at the front of the cabinet adjacent the side where the door is hinged. The fitting II is, for the sake of convenience and appearance, concealed within the edge of the door to which the hinges are fastened. Coacting with the fitting BI is a member 82 part of a pivotal connection. Leading from the top of the member '2 is a tube or pipe line 83 bent at an angle and extending into the door structure for conducting tap water from the pivotal connection to the reservoir. The axis of the swivel connection is aligned with the axes of the door hinges.

At the side of the main recess 28 is a pocket forming the complementary 33 and a top wall 34. At th botll normally closed by a lid .0 herelhown attached to the inside wall of-the door by means of screws 81. The pipe I! terminates in a detachable connection II which is designed to engage a fitting u on the receptacle. Within the fitting is a gooseneck ll by means of which water is conducted from the connection to the top of the receptacle in order to prevent short circuitingof water fre The receptacle 2| is normally positioned as shown with the connection ll, ll made up so that water from the water supply pipe II is introduced under pressure into the reservoir. When the tap 24 is opened,- cool water will be delivered under pressure, and of course, it will be replaced by water flowing in through the supply pipe 80. In the-construction shown, the refrigerator door may be freely opened and closed by reason of the presence of the swivel connection a l-l2 in the water supply line.

When it is desired to remove a receptacle of the sort thus described for cleaning purposes, it is necessary only to first remove the lid 0! by taking out the screws 01, then to uncouple the coupling 88, 89 and slide the portion 88 back along the tube or pipe line ll, then disengage the spring clip 82 and remove the receptacle by pulling out the bottom first and thereafter lowering the cleaning spout from the hollowedout portion 30. After washing and, cleaning, the receptacle can then be returned toits position in the recess, the connection "-8! remade and the lid 86 placed back over the pocket 85. The water supply pipe in the meantime will, of course, be shut oil by the valve llla.

. Thus we have provided a reservoir for refrigerators, furnishing a continuous supply of water under pressure. The reservoir can be quickly and easily removed for cleaning or repair, and is replaced with equal ease.

Some changes may be made in the construc-' ter reservoir attached to the door structure comprising a relatively thin receptacle having an outlet tap and a water inlet connection, said door having a tap receiving aperture extending from one side to the other and a recess in the inner wall slightly larger in height and width than the receptacle, said receptacle being positioned nor-' mally in the recess, a sealing strip around said recess forming a dead air space between the adjacent wall urfaces respectively of the receptacle and the recess, a supply pipe for tap water, a pivotal water connection having its pivot axis in alignment with the axes of the door hinges, one end of said connection being attached to the supply pipe, a pipe extending from the other end of said connection into the door structure, and a releasable coupling for attaching said pipe to the water inlet connection on the receptacle.

2. In a refrigerator cabinet having side walls, a'

introduced into the receptacie directly to the outlet tap.

convenient cool water I comprising a relatively thin receptacle having an outlet tap at the bottom thereof, a water inlet connection on aid receptacle adapted to conduct incoming water to the top thereof, said door having atap receiving aperture extending therethrcugh and a seal around the aperture for said tap, the inner door wall having a recess therein slightly larger in height and width than the receptacle, said receptacle being normally positioned in th recess, a sealing strip around said recess forming a dead air space between the ad- .iacent wall surfaces respectively of the receptacle and the recess, a supply pipe for tap water extending through the wall of the cabinet, a pivotal connection having its-pivot axis in alignment with the axes of the door hinges with one end thereof attached to the supply pipe, a pipe leading from the other end of the pivotal connection to the inlet connection on'said receptacle, a releasable coupling for attaching said last mentioned pipe to the water inlet connection on the receptacle, said door having a pocket receiving the coupling, and a cover for said pocket normally concealing the coupling.

3. In a refrigerator cabinet having a door and hinges attaching the door to the cabinet, the combination of a removable cool water reservoir attached to the door comprising a relatively thin receptacle having an outlet tap at the bottom thereof, a water inlet connection at the bottom thereof and a pipe inside said receptacle for injecting supply water into the receptacle at the top thereof, said door having a tap receiving aperture and a ring of packing material forming a loose seal around the aperture for said tap, the

inner door wall having a recess therein slightlylarger in height and width than the receptacle, said receptacle being normally positioned in the recess so that it is substantially flush with the inside door wall, a sealing strip around'said recess forming a dead air space between the adjacent w'all surfaces respectively of the receptacle and the recess, a supply pipe for tap water extending through the side wall of the cabinet, a

pivotal connection concealed within the adjacent edge of the door, one end of said pivotal connection being attached to the supply pipe, a tube attachedto the other end of the pivotal connection, and a releasable coupling attaching the tube to the water inlet connection on the receptacle, said door having a pocket receiving the releasable coupling.

4. In a refrigerator cabinet including an insulated door structure, a door and hinges attaching the door to one side wall of the cabinet, the combination of a removable water reservoir attached to the door, having an outlet tap extending through the door and having a water inlet connection, a water supply pipe, a pivotal pipe fitting having its axis of pivotal movement in alignment with the axes of said hinges and having one end connected to the supply pipe, a leadin pipe connected to the pivotal pipe fitting and extending within said door to a point adjacent the reservoir, and a releasable coupling Joining the lead-in pipe to the water inlet connection at the reservoir wall.

5. In a refrigerated cabinet having a door mounted on hinges, a water reservoir removably carried on the inside of said door, a discharge spout leading out from the bottom of said reservoir through said door, a pivotal conduit connection mounted on the axis of the door hinges and adapted to be connected to a supply of water under pressure, and a conduit leading from said connection to said reservoir and arranged to conduct water into the top portion of said reservoir and including a releasable coupling at the reservoir wall.

6. A refrigerator cabinet having a hinged door, a water reservoir detachably carried on the inside of said door, a water supply pipe, a pivotal pipe connection mounted on the door hinge axis and communicating with said pipe, a pipe leading from the pivotal pipe connection to the interior of the reservoir having a releasable coupling at the reservoir wall.

KINNEY I. IRWIN DUNBAR. 

